"Smarts, discipline, steadfastness. I think Bill may be too big a complication. If I picked her, my concern is that there would be more than two of us in the relationship."
David Plouffe, quoting Obama, in his new book "The Audacity to Win."
October 29, 2009
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I'm sorry, he was looking for discipline and steadfastness in a VP, and he ended up with Biden? I mean, I actually kind of like Biden, but discipline and steadfastness are not qualities I would associate with the man. Even smarts is a mixed bag, though I think he's a lot smarter than he looks when he starts running his mouth and you actually read what he said in print afterwards.
Was Obama really looking for those qualities or is this one of those things you know, where you say you want this, and then you wink.
"Plouffe" ??
I could head-off a primay challenge from Sec. Clinton. She wouldn't win but could insure the President looses in the general election.
I=It
thanks
we all said this at the time, didn't we?
P.S. seems pushed to the margins as SOS too. Not out there like Rice and Albright. Obama has Kerry and Holbrooke and others in the mix....
Obama: "I've thought about Hillary as the VP, but I need to nominate someone who will make everyone who wants to blow my brains out, have second thoughts."
WV: rawbills
Need that one for health care.
At least Obama is smart enough to keeep bubba out of the white house environs
Actually, Obama had a lot of what I was looking for in Hillary's V.P.
What is it now with the moniker of using the word 'Audacity'? These dumb leftists pretend they sound so superior whenever they use this type of language. It's annoying.
Obama's reasoning was sound. A Hillary VP would be two much like "The Clintons-pas deux". Any powersharing he did with her would likely draw Bill in, at least peripherally, and no only would wags be talking about "The Co-Presidency", but even the "Presidential Troika".
And yes, a VP who is someone respectable but who know one thinks would be preferable to the man in the Oval Ofice is a good selection. Especially if they can be trusted with certain tasks and also serve as a shit-catcher before the stuff can fly on the President.
(See Agnew, Gore, Cheney..)
How is this news?
What new book?
Theo,
LOL!
By a show of hands, how many wish today that Hillary was President instead of Obama?
The Audacity of Corporate Fascism
Biden is a life insurance policy
*hands up*
I voted for Hillary in the primary.
At least she has balls.
By a show of hands, how many wish today that Hillary was President instead of Obama?
I do . . . kind of. The healthcare debate is driving home the benefits of having an ignoramus as our President, though. Clinton would probably have a clear idea of (a) what is in the House and Senate bills and (b) what she thinks should be in a bill. Health care policy is kind of her thing, after all, and she would probably be showing a lot more leadership than Obama on the issue. Which, for me -- since I oppose the Democrats' health care schemes -- is a bad thing.
On the other hand, she has countervailing weaknesses. Obama has a pleasant, mellow affect when he talks, even if what he's talking is utter rot. Clinton is uh, not that way.
If Hillary were POTUS, think about all the blog posts that would be done about Bill. How would the VP react to the Big Cigar? He'd get more coverage than Hillary!!
Getting close to the first pitch. Go Philly!
I wonder if Plouffe's friends called him "Magic Dragon"?
Smarts, discipline, steadfastness.
Plus a real knack for the futures markets, an ability to make documents disappear, and a great voice.
@Chase: Both hands up. I voted for her in the primary and donated money too. As many have said, she was the only Dem with balls.
Chase said...
By a show of hands, how many wish today that Hillary was President instead of Obama?
You must be joking. The Hildebeast and Obambi are distinction without difference. One worships Alinsky, the other almost worked for him; neither can make a coherent decision.
WV "derre" A derriere without one.
Manipulation in the guise of a compliment. He's saying this entirely to rub it in their faces - and if possible tweak Hillary's anger at Bill.
Oy veh, the hagiography. The War Room this isn't. But then the War Room had a real character at its core. This book is about a seedless orange.
Speaking of pulp the passage describing Biden's selection is priceless. It is the memoir as spin:
The [first] meeting started with Biden launching into a nearly 20-minute monologue that ranged from the strength of our campaign in Iowa ("I literally wouldn't have run if I knew the steamroller you guys would put together"); to his evolving views of Obama ("I wasn't sure about him in the beginning of the campaign, but I am now"); why he didn't want to be VP ("The last thing I should do is VP; after 36 years of being the top dog, it will be hard to be No. 2"); why he was a good choice ("But I would be a good soldier and could provide real value, domestically and internationally"); and everything else under the sun. Ax and I couldn't get a word in edgewise.
It confirmed what we suspected: this dog could not be taught new tricks. But the conversation also confirmed our positive assumptions: his firm grasp of issues, his blue collar sensibilities and the fact that while he would readily accept the VP slot if offered, he was not pining for it.
Just read the three Biden quotes then the last six words. What utter make-believe.
Biden at least served his time in the Senate and did things (even if he was despicable to Bork and Thomas).
The Boy President blew one of his first big decisions, though, in picking Biden. The man thinks Roosevelt was on TV as President in 1929. What a maroon.c
Speaking of Hillary, go take a look at her picture in this article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/30/world/asia/30clinton.html?hp
Hilarious.
Wearing a veil to placate Muslim sensibilities.
A woman who made her career trying to destroy the religious and cultural traditions of Christian America, kowtowing to Muslim Pakistan.
What an asshole!
Of course, it isn't much fun to rebel against the Muslims. They'll stone you to death in the street. Here in the U.S., it's just a publicity ploy to piss on a picture of Jesus.
So he was worried about Bill and to solve "the Bill problem" he elected to give Hillary (what used to be) the prime cabinet position and he picked a stumbling moron to be his VP- a completely useless post?
Is it true that the reason Obama drags his prompter to Rodeos and such is that he doesn't want people to notice he's wearing clown shoes?
I think it is reasonable to assume that Plouffe's book was written and then carefully reviewed with the objective to try to make Obama [and Plouffe] look good and otherwise help Obama. As a result, I would not trust anything in the book. The excerpts I read seemed designed to help Obama.
The Boy President blew one of his first big decisions, though, in picking Biden.
Really? If he had blown that decision, he wouldn't be President. I think a better argument can be made that McCain's decision to nominate Palin was worse. After all, McCain wasn't elected President. Perhaps if he had chosen better, he'd be President now.
Arguably it was a terrible decision, and he made it before McCain made his decision for Palin. Unless you credit the Boy President with mind-reading and prognostication skills, he made the decision for Biden without knowing whom McCain would pick (and I suspect he thought McCain would pick someone like Romney or Pawlenty).
It was a terrible decision because neither Biden nor the Boy President can lead a country. The Boy President can't decide on what to get for a dog for six weeks. He can't decide what to do about Afghanistan, a signature issue for him. (Remember how he vowed to go after Osama? Where did that go?)
It was a terrible decision because Biden is a yack -- can't stop talking, can't keep the facts straight, doesn't understand that he's the V.P. of the United States, not the chief cheerleader of the Democrats.
It was a terrible decision because the Boy President made it based upon what would help him look good, and not what was best for the United States.
A lot of [squishy] Republicans wanted Reagan to pick Ford in 1980, and they did have negotiations, which thankfully stalled, thus bringing the Bushes eventually to power.
Biden has a conscience. it's been pretty obvious every time he's contradicted Obama.
I'd take him over Obama in a split second. America would be far better off if Biden were president today.
So all those saying Obama picked someone who would never been seen as preferable are just Obama fans. Obama's pretty darn abhorrent. Biden's just a big government liberal who loves the good things and has a POV on how to get them.
But yes, yes, Obama was right not to pick Hillary. He only won because the economy collapse reversed the tremendous momentum Palin gave to Mccain, but Hillary is completely unqualified, completely untrustworthy, and just plain too much a woman for an Obama administration. Obama would probably be pretty uncomfortable around a woman he can't call 'sweetie'.
"Bill Kilgore said...
So he was worried about Bill and to solve "the Bill problem" he elected to give Hillary (what used to be) the prime cabinet position and he picked a stumbling moron to be his VP- a completely useless post?"
VP is a big damn deal. VPs go on to be powerful. Even the loathed Cheney has a lot of influence that Condi, Albright, and Powell do not have.
Cheney, Gore, Quayle, HW Bush = one dud.
I also think Obama hung out with a lot of psycho radicals like Ayers and Wright and thinks it's completely possible for Hillary to be a grave threat if given the VP spot.
He picked the safe bet. Mccain did not, of course, and that's a great indication of how Mccain would have governed. That's what's interesting to me. Mccain was obviously better than Obama on Honduras or Afghanistan, but how consistent would his decisions be? I think he would have pulled a lot of stunts.
Madisonman,
do you know what a non sequiter is?
You say Mccain made a mistake picking Palin because he wasn't elected. You could say any and every thing Mccain did was a mistake under that line of reasoning, because it's completely irrational.
Mccain's poll numbers were boosted drastically, and he received lots of donations, as a result of selecting Palin. He was beating Obama, as a direct result, until the economic collapse.
So it's pretty clear that Palin was a good choice. Not good enough to overcome the economic problems associated, for some reason, with the GOP instead of the democrats, but I don't know of an alternative that would have worked much better... it wasn't a very close election.
What's even more baffling about your reasoning is that election is not the point of being president. Obama made a bad choice in Biden because Biden is a bad vice president. Period. He's dumb, makes the country look bad, and would probably not be a good president (though I think Obama is even worse). He's always had his foot in his mouth, and many anticipate he won't be chosen a second time.
But Obama got elected. Therefore everything Obama has ever done was 'right'. I disagree with that.
New Book:
THE AUDACITY OF HYPE
by Barak Obama with David Plouffe and Bill Ayers
How I got elected President by hiding behind white racial anxiety, spinning everything that ever happened to me, and speaking from a teleprompter words that other people wrote.
Social Democracy Books: Oslo, 2016
Slow Joe, many weeks ago, someone (I can't recall who) posted a link to a graph of McCain's numbers vs. Palin's Approval Numbers from nomination through the election.
McCain's huge dips correlated very nicely with a dip in Palin's. Here is the link.
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